Mehdi Caps Feb 7, 2011:

"Elle a du chien" is a rather old-fashioned way to say "elle a de l'allure". We only keep using it today because it's funny. This allows for some puns to be made, like in the caption of this picture:
http://www.pbase.com/querido/image/87184394

Now here's a woman (poor little rich girl Paris Hilton) who is said to have "de l'allure":
http://people.premiere.fr/var/premiere/storage/images/public...
Caption: "Avouez qu'ainsi, elle a de l'allure !"

It is actually the same thing, and the captions could be swapped. Both have, as is mandatory for having "du chien", high heels and their nose up.

See in the link of the second photo: "sexy mais pas vulgaire". This is still a little vulgar, actually. You cannot really say it about a classy woman, and you cannot say it directly to a woman without showing your lust.

"Elle a du chien" means "she is sexy", but without directly saying it, it is only implied.

Sandrine Guyennet (asker) Feb 4, 2011:

context it's about a female artist, for a magazine article. She had a difficult life, and paints things which are a bit 'gore' and 'sexy'. I think she "a du chien" because she succeeds in the mostly-male world of graffiti. She is not a girl you can intimidate.

writeaway Feb 4, 2011:

Context please.... why the refusal to provide any??????

Emma Paulay Feb 4, 2011:

Avoir du chien IMO there's no doubt about the meaning - cf Martin's contribution. Nothing to do with dogs.

Sheila Wilson Feb 4, 2011:

With Callum This might be calling for something along the lines of "37-year-old X, with her great pedigree, ....". But it depends on how native speakers see the source text. Would "X" be entitled to perhaps feel a little offended about being referred to in this way?

Martin Cassell Feb 4, 2011:

where is the text from? Canadian Fr. has "avoir du chien" = "to be full of energy"; and "(en) avoir à revendre" means to "have ~~ to spare", "have oodles of ~~" ; but the standard interpretation would be she's seriously good looking.

Callum Walker Feb 4, 2011:

Purely a hunch... I could well be wrong! When I first read this, I wondered if it means "well-bred". I drew a parallel with how pure-breed dogs are reared for sale ("prize bitches" if you like). This could be entirely the wrong end of the stick, but I just wondered if it referred to someone who was well-raised, of good heritage etc. etc.